Days Sales Outstanding Recovery Sequence (Retention)

Days Sales Outstanding Recovery Sequence (Retention)

1. 01

   Pull the aged receivables ledger and segment every open invoice by days past due

   Split into 1-15, 16-45, 46-90, and 90+ buckets. Anything past 90 days gets escalated to the account lead before any automated reminder fires.

2. 02

   Reconcile each disputed line against tracked time and approved scope

   Match hours logged in a time-to-invoice tool such as Harvest against the signed SOW line items so the reminder you send cites the approved deliverable, not a raw total.

3. 03

   Map the client's actual payment rail before choosing a collection path

   A client paying by direct debit through GoCardless needs a different nudge than one paying by card through Stripe or by bank transfer through BILL. Sending the wrong payment link adds a week to the cycle.

4. 04

   Configure a three-touch reminder cadence with fixed intervals

   Day 1 after due date: invoice copy plus payment link. Day 7: account manager personal note. Day 14: finance escalation with a stated late-payment term. Automate the first touch, keep the second human.

5. 05

   Set a cash forecast that reflects realistic collection dates, not invoice dates

   A 13-week rolling forecast, the horizon Agicap builds around, exposes whether a single late retainer client breaks payroll before month end.

6. 06

   Run a monthly DSO review with the delivery leads who own the accounts

   Report DSO by client, not just agency-wide. Delivery teams change behavior when they see that one client's slow approvals are costing 20 extra days of float.

7. 07

   Log every collection outcome back into the invoicing platform

   Record promise-to-pay dates and partial payments so the next cycle's reminders start from an accurate balance rather than the original invoice amount.